CCTV surveys reveal hidden flood risks

Specialist drainage services delivered by Lanes Group plc have been deployed to support a major flood protection scheme in Leeds.

CCTV drainage surveys carried out by a team from the Lanes Leeds depot along a flood-risk river identified surface water pipes that needed to be fitted with flood valves.

Leeds City Council, in partnership with the Environment Agency, has reduced the risk of flooding to 88 businesses in the Stourton area of the West Yorkshire city. The £1.4m project is part of a package of measures within a wider Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme.

Non-return valves stop water from being forced back up drainage pipes and flooding properties, which is a common problem when river levels are extremely high.

Lanes used a robotic crawler camera to record HD-quality video inside 50 surface water drainage pipes identified along a river.

Bradley Offiler, Regional Manager of the Lanes Leeds depot, said: “We were able to identify which of the drainage pipes were live and so needed to have flood valves fitted.

“Carrying out drainage condition surveys is a vital part of any urban flood protection process as they identify the many routes water can take through pipe systems.

“The data we capture is used by civil and structural engineers to design and implement flood defences.

“It also helps flood authorities predict how flooding is likely to develop over time, identifying at-risk hotspots, so the most effective countermeasures can be deployed where they are needed most.”

Services Lanes delivers to support flood alleviation work include sewer and culvert cleaning, drain excavation and replacement, and no-dig rehabilitation through pipe patch lining and full lining.

Other flood protection work currently being carried out by the company, the UK’s largest independent drainage specialist, include culvert cleaning in Wigan and Cardiff, and highway drainage pipe lining in South Gloucestershire.

In Stourton, new flood protection measures introduced include a new 730 metre flood defence wall and property level protection, such as flood gates and demountable barriers.